Brazil and Qualcomm Ventures choose Indicator Capital to manage US$30 million IoT fund

Contxto – Corporate venture capital (VC) fund Qualcomm Ventures and Brazil’s National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) disclosed their interesting partnership in December of last year.

At the time, they announced the launch of a fund that tenders to Brazilian startups working with Internet of Things (IoT) tech. After this, Qualcomm and the BNDES sat back to wait for bids from VCs interested in handling the fund for them.

Now, the partners have recently come forward to announce that Indicator Capital shall be the fund’s manager. Consequently, it will oversee the R$40 million (~US$7.5 million) each party has put into the project. Indicator is also tasked with rallying other investors to pitch into the IoT fund so that it totals to R$160 million (~US$30 million).

The parties expect to disperse funds throughout a 10 year period in at least 14 startups.

Why it’s a big deal: Partnerships between private and public entities bolster the region’s most robust startup ecosystem for the long term. Likewise, considering the importance IoT tech is gaining for a post-pandemic era, a specialized fund like this one better positions Brazil to take the lead.

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IoT startups in Brazil

For Filipe Borsato, Head of Fund Investments at the BNDES, all these happenings illustrate Brazil’s capabilities when it comes to IoT tech.

“The fund, whose thesis is based on studies carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation (MCTI), is already born with a private investor with an international presence [Qualcomm], demonstrating the potential of IoT in Brazil,” says Borsato.

Moreover, for the BNDES, placing these funds into a third party’s hands will kick off a self-sustaining opportunity for IoT startups.

“We expect Indicator Capital to attract other private investors, including from the corporate venture model, catalyzing a virtuous cycle of investment in small technology-based companies,” concludes Borsato.

Related articles: Tech and startups from Brazil!

-ML